Hi all, been on OSC for a while but never checked out the D-League forum until now. I saw my Jam didn't yet have a team thread so I thought I'd start one.

Now, there isn't too much positive to say about the Jam this year so I'll just start by introducing myself and how I became a fan.

I've been living in Bakersfield for about a year now and quickly adopted the Jam. Due to a busy work schedule (I work for the minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, the Blaze, hence my name) I hadn't had a chance to see the Jam live in person until recently and had a great time. (I even saw a Jam win! How rare is that?! lol)

Anyway, I haven't followed pro basketball this closely before and still am not 100% familiar with all the rules of the D-League, but here's my take with my team.

I love how these guys have been able to at least stay with their opponents lately, I attribute some of that to new coach Scott Roth. But my God, I have never seen a team, NBA, NBDL, or college, that is SO bad at rebounding. I'm sure there are many other flaws with the team, but none are as obvious as that one.

Anyway, it's still been a fun year. New acquisitions Nick Lewis and Trey Johnson have been some nice pick-ups (Lewis had some HUGE shots in our win against the Vipers). Scooter McFadgon is having another solid season after being an all-star last year.

Okay, back to the game...I'm watching the Jam take on the Wizards (losing 52-39 in the 3rd :/ )

DakotaWizardsFan

02-02-2008, 10:48 PM

Welcome to the D-League forum!

I hate seeing a team with such a bad record at any level of basketball, but I've got to go with my Wizards tonight.

I don't really know what to say about the Jam since they aren't in the same division and I don't know much about them

GoBlaze

02-02-2008, 11:00 PM

82-77 4th quarter! Hanging in there!

Thanks DWF.

Well, we've got a good foundation for scorers with McFadgon, Andre Barrett and newcomer Michael Cuffee, but we lack a strong presence at the center position and really only get good defense out of our guards, which is why we have so many problems rebounding.

That said, this team is much better now than they were a few weeks ago.

EDIT: JAM WIN! 102-97! Great 4th quarter!

DakotaWizardsFan

02-02-2008, 11:27 PM

Wow, you guys did it. I had the webcast on, but I really wasn't watching. How did the Wizards lose the game? They were ahead when I was watching.

GoBlaze

02-02-2008, 11:50 PM

missed much of the 1st half, but the 2nd was great. We've been doing that a lot lately. We fall way behind (nothing new) but late 3rd quarter or so our defense really puts on the pressure and causes the other team to make mistake and take bad shots. Jeez, if only we could play defense like that all the time.

Scooter McFadgon had a big game (29 points). He's probably our best scorer. Andre Barrett is our best player overall IMO. Best on the team on defense and a great playmaker on offense. Power forward James Peters had a nice game as well.

It's tough to say what we've been doing different lately, because it's obvious we've gotten better. Most of our losses haven't been by much, so maybe we're just not as bad as our record says. Still there's a difference between the team a few weeks back, and now. Now, it really feels like, whether or not we're losing (even if it's by 15+ points!), as long as we stay in the game and play with our opponent , we're going to have a shot.

DakotaWizardsFan

02-03-2008, 12:06 AM

This should give the Jam a lot of momentum since the Wizards were probably the second hottest team going into tonight. We just lost Mo Baker, but we're still pretty solid without him. The Jam had to put up with Blake Ahearn's recent explosion. When Blake can do that much damage to your team and your team can still win, that says a lot.

USBasket_EricE

02-03-2008, 12:09 AM

I haven't gotten as pissed about a loss as I did earlier tonight. Watched the whole game, a game that the Wizards had nearly the entire time, until that dreadful 4th quarter...

GoBlaze

02-05-2008, 06:00 PM

Jam lose to the T-Birds today, 98-84. It was an early game (must've been a school day game in Albuquerque or something) so I didn't get to see it, just caught the updates on the Jam website.

In a 180 degree turn of how the Wizard and Viper games went, this time the Jam were close most of the game, but fell far behind late. We were out rebounded again, (4th game in a row) as well.

I knew we were winning more games lately but I just today put it in perspective while looking at the schedule.

The Jam won a total of 3 (THREE!!!!) of their first 23 games. Since then (before today's game) they've won 3 of 7. They doubled their win total in less than 1/3 as many games. Not as impressive as it sounds considering it's only another 3 wins, but at least this time we didn't have to wait almost 2 months get there.

BTW- So how many fans are on this forum? I'm guessing their aren't any more Jam fans.

USBasket_EricE

02-05-2008, 11:35 PM

BTW- So how many fans are on this forum? I'm guessing their aren't any more Jam fans.

After following this forum for a year and a half, you're the first Jam fan that I've seen on here. As for fans of other teams, there's Pounder (Idaho Stampede); ChumpDumper, FeedReed (Austin Toros); abie10, #1 T-Birds Fan, TBirdCrazy (Albuquerque Thunderbirds); jjbballfan (Sioux Falls Skyforce); myself, DakotaWizardsFan, DakotaWiz (Dakota Wizards); and once and awhile there's SignGuyDino who roots for Coach Joey Meyer and the Tulsa 66ers, a team that used to be located in Asheville, NC. There are several others, but not all of them are really that active on the forums anymore.

GoBlaze

02-07-2008, 11:27 AM

Congrats to point guard Andre Barrett on being selected for the all-star team. The selection was well deserved. He leads the Jam with 19 PPG and can really make some incredible lay-ups some times. Barrett is also by far our best on defense.

Although I still think McFadgon is our best offensive player (even with fewer PPG) Barrett has proven he is the best overall Jam player.

GoBlaze

02-14-2008, 11:34 AM

Jam add center Lukasz Obrzut. Don't know much about him and his stats aren't fantastic, but at 7'1" he's now the only 7-footer on the team. As I've said before, the inside is where we really get killed. No rebounds, little defense. Hopfully adding a big guy like Obrzut will help us out.

GoBlaze

03-02-2008, 07:25 PM

Haven't made a post in a while, been really busy with work (Blaze opening day April 3!). Not a whole lot of good news with the Jam, our last win came against they team we're playing right now, the Wizards. A few changes to the roster. We brought back Mateen Cleaves to take the point after trading Andre Barrett for forward Justin Reed (who lead the team in scoring in our last game!). Nice to see us making so many strides to improve our talent on the inside. We're a little thin at the guard position now, although that's meant more playing time for local boy Zeke Andrews. Not sure when I'll be able to make my next game, but hopefully soon.

EDIT: Sooooo close! Jam lose 113-110 after a great comeback. We put up a few desperation 3s in the lst few seconds but couldn't get them to do down, but still a great game for the Jam. The best part about it was after it was over you could see the players high fiving each other and the overall spirit of the team seemed high, it almost seemed like they won.

FeedReed

03-25-2008, 11:04 PM

how crazy was that win over Utah? i think cleaves and reed gonna take the jam to the championship next season if they aren't called up. They both got heart and skill.

Minor League Man

03-25-2008, 11:12 PM

I think the Jam are "most likely to fold/relocate" for this year:

1. Back-to-back seasons in the league basement
2. Arena crowded for dates (CSU Bako and Condors hockey, on top of other events do well, & this doesn't)
3. Closest team (fellow Central Valley team Sacramento Kings) believed to be switching to Reno-their Director of Player Development was at the introductory press conference.

Anybody else see my points?

FeedReed

03-25-2008, 11:24 PM

it looked like they draw crowds, i'm pretty sure they got a good fanbase.

GoBlaze

05-25-2008, 10:10 PM

Good to see Scott Roth coming back as head coach next season, we seemed to play much better under him. Sean Rooks, who was considered for the HC position before Roth was hired, is also back for his 3rd year. Dean Martin has been added to the coaching staff as well.

Haven't heard anything here in Bako about the team folding any time soon (although the team prez did just resign.). They draw ok, but the size of the arena can sometimes make their attendance look pretty low. They'd be better off closing off the 2nd deck and dropping all other sections ticket prices by a buck or so.

I've heard that many minor leagues (AF2, NBDL, MiLB) really want to be in this market, despite the low attendance numbers, for whatever reason. Condors seem to be the only team in town that draw well.

GoBlaze

06-12-2008, 02:40 PM

Jam just had the groundbreaking ceremony today for a new, state-of-the-art practice facility, which will also house the team's offices. Looks like they're here for the long haul.

The team also officially announced the affiliation with the Orlando Magic yesterday. Sorry to lose the local Sacramento Kings, but at least we still have the Warriors. Also Head Coach Scott Roth has worked with some of the brass in Orlando, so hopefully this will be a strong partnership.

bectond

06-16-2008, 06:44 PM

Jam just had the groundbreaking ceremony today for a new, state-of-the-art practice facility, which will also house the team's offices. Looks like they're here for the long haul.

The team also officially announced the affiliation with the Orlando Magic yesterday. Sorry to lose the local Sacramento Kings, but at least we still have the Warriors. Also Head Coach Scott Roth has worked with some of the brass in Orlando, so hopefully this will be a strong partnership.

Wow, this is huge, a $1 million state of the art practice facility that will be open 24 hours a day. This is major news, I hope it starts a trend in the D-League because if it does the whole developmental structure in basketball is going to change. I absolutely love this idea!

Tallpplrule

09-11-2008, 03:31 PM

I noticed that a few teams such as the Skyforce and Wizards are holding tryouts, does anyone know if the Jam will be holding tryouts?

GoBlaze

11-28-2008, 06:15 PM

Well I WISH I was watching the Jam beat the D-Fenders right now, but I can't get the live feed to come up on the D-League site. :/

Lewis, Cleaves, and Johnson were all on last year's team (Cleaves and Lewis were among our best players come the end of the season), and Nelson and Hendrix were assigned to us from Golden State. Looking at the roster should give Jam fans some reason for hope for this year's team. They can't be any worse than the '07-'08 team. :roll:

GoBlaze

11-28-2008, 07:33 PM

Jam win! That's right folks, the Jam have a WINNING RECORD! Ok they're 1-0, but it's a start. Hendrix comes through with the double-double, 31 points, 14 rebounds. Time to go to Reno and make this a winning streak!

EDIT: Missed the Reno game, but the Jam pulled off another victory, 98-93! Hendrix with another double-double. Next up are the Flash. Then Wednesday night, home opener vs. LA. Go Jam! 2-0!